Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

एतदेव रहस्यं ते वाराणस्या उदीर्यते । उत्क्षिप्यैकांगुलिं तथ्यं श्रेष्ठैका मणिकर्णिका

Transliteration

etadeva rahasyaṃ te vārāṇasyā udīryate | utkṣipyaikāṃguliṃ tathyaṃ śreṣṭhaikā maṇikarṇikā

Translation

വാരാണസിയുടെ ഇതേ രഹസ്യം നിന്നോട് പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു—ഒരു വിരൽ ഉയർത്തി സത്യം പറയുന്നതുപോലെ: മാണികർണിക മാത്രം ശ്രേഷ്ഠം.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• रहस्यम्: secret
• रहस्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rahasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ते: to you / for you
• ते: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वाराणस्याः: of Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• उदीर्यते: is proclaimed
• उदीर्यते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + √īr (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (is proclaimed/uttered)

• उत्क्षिप्य: having lifted
• उत्क्षिप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ut + √kṣip (धातु) + lyap
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त (absolutive/gerund): ‘having lifted/raising’

• एकाङ्गुलिम्: one finger
• एकाङ्गुलिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka + aṅguli (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु/तत्पुरुषभावः (एकः अङ्गुलिः = one finger)

• तथ्यम्: true
• तथ्यम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tathya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (true)

• श्रेष्ठा: best
• श्रेष्ठा: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying मणिकर्णिका)

• एका: one, unique
• एका: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• मणिकर्णिका: Maṇikarṇikā (tīrtha/ghāṭ)
• मणिकर्णिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇikarṇikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni (sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator emphatically ‘raises one finger’ to declare the truth: Maṇikarṇikā alone is supreme; behind, the blazing ghāṭa fires and the sacred kuṇḍa/river shimmer with otherworldly light.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī
• Maṇikarṇikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Among Kāśī’s many sanctities, the text singles out one focal tīrtha as uniquely supreme for spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha/ghāṭa in Vārāṇasī (Kāśī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription here; it establishes Maṇikarṇikā’s unrivaled status, preparing for practices like snāna and prāyaścitta described next.